3751 Wiregrass Road New Port Richey, FL 34655 Phone: (727) 312-3272 Email: [email protected] Website: www.stagesproductions.com An Educator’s guide to: Born bigger and different than the other hatchlings, the Ugly Duckling is ridiculed by his brothers and sisters, rejected by the other ducks, and eventually shunned by the entire barnyard. The little bird leaves home, embarking on a journey through hecklers, hunters and hilarious hi-jinks only to discover that the beauty he was seeking was inside him all along. For over two centuries, Hans Christian Andersen’s The Ugly Duckling has been a childhood favorite all over the world. Now Stages Productions revives the classic tale in a brand new musical which is sure to please the entire family. STAGES PRODUCTIONS . Throughout the study guide, this symbol means that specific Florida Standards are being addressed that correlate activities directly to Florida Assessments. As new standards are created and approved by the Florida Department of Education, this may change. Please visit www.cpalms.org for more information and to customize this guide to your specific grade level. THE THEATRE IS A SPECIAL TREAT Let us concentrate for a moment on a vital part of youth theatre: the young people. Millions of youngsters attend plays every season, and for some the experience is not particularly memorable or entertaining. The fault may lie with the production - but often the fault lies in the fact that these youngsters have not been properly briefed on appropriate theatre manners. Going to the theatre is not a casual event such as flipping on the TV set, attending a movie or a sports event. Going to the theatre is a SPECIAL OCCASION, and should be attended as such. In presenting theatre manners to young people we take the liberty of putting the do’s and don’ts in verse, and hope that concerned adults will find this a more palatable way of introducing these concepts to youngsters. MATINEE MANNERS By Peggy Simon Traktman The theatre is no place for lunch, But if you like something you clap Who can hear when you go “crunch?” Actors like to hear applause. We may wear our nicest clothes If there is cause for this applause. When we go to theatre shows. If a scene is bright and sunny, Do not talk to one another And you think something is funny (That means friends or even mother) Laugh- performers love this laughter When you go to see a show, But be quiet from thereafter. Otherwise you’ll never know Don’t kick chairs or pound your feet What the play is all about And do not stand up in your seat, And you’ll make the actors shout Never wander to and fro - Just to make themselves be heard. Just sit back and watch the show. So, be still - don’t say a word And when the final curtain falls Unless an actor asks you to… The actors take their “curtain calls” A thing they rarely ever do. That means they curtsy or they bow A program has a special use And you applaud, which tells them how So do not treat it with abuse! You liked their work and liked the show. Its purpose is to let us know Then, when the lights come on, you go Exactly who is in the show Back up the aisle and walk - don’t run It also tells us other facts Out to the lobby, everyone. Of coming shows and future acts. The theatre is a special treat Programs make great souvenirs And not a place to talk or eat. Of fun we’ve had in bygone years If you behave the proper way Keep your hands upon your lap You really will enjoy the play. 2 THE STORYTELLER Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen was born in Odense, Denmark, in 1805, the son of a cobbler and a washerwoman. Despite his background and lack of education, Andersen’s father encouraged his son’s early interest in literature and drama. At the age of 14, Andersen convinced his mother to allow him to seek his fortune in Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark. A combination of determination and good luck led him to become first a singer and actor, then a dramatist – although an unsuccessful one – and finally a writer. His first book, aptly entitled Youthful Attempts (1822), sold just seventeen copies (with the remaining 283 being sold to a grocer for use as wrapping paper). But after extensive travels throughout Europe gathering material, his novel, The Improvisatore, was published in 1835 and was an immediate success. His Fairy Tales Told for Children, which appeared in the same year, was not immediately appreciated. But as he wrote more tales, his genius became internationally recognized, and within his lifetime he found himself acknowledged as the pre-eminent master of the fairy tale. Andersen broke new ground by writing in the language of everyday speech and he had a unique ability to read his stories aloud and to act them out. Hans Christian Andersen described his own life as a fairy tale: an uneducated boy from a poor family who was to rub shoulders with aristocrats and kings, and a shy adult who rose above his shortcomings to hold children spellbound with tales that have continued to enthrall generations ever since. Certainly it was the stuff of make- believe. The qualities contained in the universe of Hans Christian Andersen are of inestimable value and during this bicentennial year of his birth, should be celebrated throughout the world. His genius lies in the fact that he has something vital to convey to children and adults alike. His writings contain universal truths about human nature and psychology, crucial to the development of every individual. To learn more about Denmark’s favorite son, visit: http://www.andersen.sdu.dk/index_e.html 3 THE EXPERT Bruno Bettelheim In this day of heightened sensitivity to the effects of culture (both classical and popular) on the psychological development of young people, the fairy tale has come under scrutiny by many concerned educators, parents, and psychologists. Many feel that fairy tales enforce negative stereotypes and establish unrealistic expectations in children. Others voice concern over the violence exhibited in many stories. Still others find fairy tales relatively harmless while questioning their relevance to today’s youth. One current work by a noted psychologist attempts to rewrite and update fairy tales to embrace contemporary social situations, perceptions and concepts. Perhaps the most important and insightful work on the subject is “The Uses of Enchantment” by psychoanalyst Bruno Bettelheim. Bettelheim maintains that, like all lasting legends and folklore, fairy tales contain universal symbols of human experience and, for children, a “safe” arena for dealing with the complexities of their own needs. He recognizes that the content of fairy tales has significance to all persons, regardless of age, but points out that children are more open in their responses than are adults. THE MESSAGE From Bruno Bettelheim’s award-winning book: The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales While Fairy tales invariably point the way to a better future, they concentrate on the process of change, rather than describing the exact details of the bliss eventually to be gained. The stories start where the child is at the time and suggest where he has to go—with emphasis on the process itself. Thus the child who feels himself doomed to be an ugly duckling need not despair; he will grow into a beautiful swan. Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Ugly Duckling” is the story of a bird which is thought little of as a fledgling but which in the end proves its superiority to all those which had scoffed and mocked it. The story also contains the element of the hero being the youngest and the last-born, since all the other ducklings pecked their way out of their eggs and into the world sooner. On the simplest and most direct level, fairy tales in which the hero is the youngest and most inept offer the child the consolation and hope for the future he needs most. Though the child thinks little of himself—a view he projects onto others’ views of him—and fears he may never amount to anything, the story shows that he is already started on the process of realizing his potentials. The outcome tells the child that he who has been considered by himself or by others as least able will nonetheless surpass all. Such a message can best carry conviction through repeated telling of the story. When first told a story with a “dumb” or “ugly” hero, a child may not be able to identify with him, much as he feels himself to be inadequate. That would be too threatening, too contrary to his self-love. Only when the child feels completely assured of the hero’s proven superiority through repeated hearings can he afford to identify with the hero from the beginning. And only on the basis of such identification can the story provide encouragement to the child that his depreciated view of himself is erroneous. As the child comes to identify with the degraded hero of the fairy tale, who he knows will eventually show superiority, the child himself is also started on the process of realizing his potential. The belief in such possibilities needs to be nurtured so that the child can accept his disillusionments without being utterly defeated. At the same time, the fairy tale stresses that these events happened once upon a time, in a far distant land, and makes clear that it offers food for hope, not realistic accounts of what the world is like here and now.